There is an artist in every child
Chippa Legodimo | Friday January 30, 2015 12:00
Hundred and six years after his death, Picasso’s words are still proving relevant to generations of artists.
Like many Batswana children, especially those from the poor neighbourhoods, Ronald Kegomoditswe and his friends, made wire toy cars. They imagined themselves as gusty speed car drivers overtaking on a highway as they excitedly ran behind the ragged structures in the dusty streets. There was an artist in every one of those young boys, but Kegomoditswe was just one of the few who would remain artists once they grew up.
For him, art is not just a passion, it is a way of life, a platform to express joys and frustrations and a way of giving hope to the masses.
“As young as five-years-old I made wire toy cars and by the time I reached junior secondary school my passion for art was fuelled to another level. In fact, I used to help some Form Three pupils with their work while I was still doing my Form One,” Kegomoditswe told Arts & Culture. At secondary school the young man entered art competitions but it only when he was doing his Form Five that he managed to breakthrough. He won the first prize in the Northern region art competition held in Orapa.
Kegomoditswe recalls his first meaningful drawing was that of a woman portrait, which he said represented his mother.
“It was not necessarily a picture, but I had her in my mind when I did it.
Through that drawing I paid tribute to her for the way she raised us and the way she kept on encouraging me to take art seriously,” Kegomoditswe said. Perhaps his love for art made him lose focus on other subjects at school and he posted disappointing final examination results in 2013.
“I got A* in art, but did not do well in other subjects. I was disappointed, but happy at the same time that I was superb in my favourite subject. However, I realise that I needed to pass all the subjects if I were to proceed to further studies in art,” he said. Kegomoditswe continues to nurture his talent doing both pencil drawing and painting.
“I am not limited to any one area, but I have made a decision to focus on painting and drawing because that is where I feel home and the results normally show in the final pieces I produce,” he said.
Although he is clearly talented, the youngster insisted on refining his skills by going for further studies. If he gets a chance to go to tertiary, Kegomoditswe is adamant it would be in the field of art.
“Right now I cannot say art is my livelihood, but I want to make it that way in future. Talent alone is not enough, one needs to go for training to smoothen the rough edges,” he said.